NH VA hospital unlikely to be made full-service

NH VA hospital unlikely to be made full-service
By Clare Trapasso
Associated Press Writer / June 24, 2008
MANCHESTER, N.H.—Despite requests from members of the congressional delegation, the head of the Department of Veterans Affairs said Tuesday he does not foresee returning the state's VA hospital to full service.

After touring the Manchester VA Medical Center, VA Secretary James Peake also said he is against giving veterans cards to let them receive treatment at non-VA facilities.

"That's called Yellow-Page medicine," Peake said. "I think that potentially is dangerous, because I'm not sure the individual is necessarily the best consumer. It's hard to be an educated consumer of health care."

He said keeping veterans in the system improves care by keeping it coordinated.

Peake commented hours after being asked by Sen. John Sununu, who invited him on the tour, to return the hospital to full service.

"When Granite State veterans are forced to travel out of the state to receive medical care, it can be a hardship for them and their families," Sununu said in a statement.

Reps. Carol Shea-Porter and Paul Hodes also support making the hospital full-service, and Sununu said veterans should be able to use local non-VA hospitals.
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